Father: Shooting victim was 'fighter'

Patrick LesterOf The Morning Call

As authorities continued their probe Thursday into the mysterious fatal shooting of a 42-year-old Hellertown woman in an upper Bucks County church, family and friends recalled her as a bright and loving "fighter" who had a lengthy battle with mental illness.

Investigators said Rhonda L. Smith died from a gunshot wound suffered Wednesday in Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on Route 212 in rural Springfield Township, but they hadn't determined whether it was suicide or murder. They've classified the death as "suspicious."

Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim pronounced Smith, of 1333 Main St., dead at 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill, about six hours after she was found shot.

"We're just continuing to investigate it," said Sgt. Edward Murphy of state police at Dublin, who are investigating along with Bucks County detectives. "We're following up on information, and as soon as we can release some more information, we'll do that."

Neither Murphy nor Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry would comment on whether a gun was found. Murphy said investigators, who combed the property for clues Thursday morning, are still conducting interviews and doing forensic work. Church members are permitted to return to the building, Murphy said.

Jim Smith said he doesn't believe his only daughter, who had suffered from bipolar disorder since she was in her 20s, would have committed suicide.

"She did not do this to herself," said Smith, 72, of Lower Saucon Township. "Rhonda was brought up to be with God. She knew a self-murderer does not get into the kingdom of heaven. I think it was a freak thing."

Springfield, a township of about 5,000 people with rolling hills and farm properties near the Northampton County border, was shaken by the shooting. An estimated 100 people attended a Thursday morning memorial service at Trinity United Church of Christ in Springfield, which is near the church where the shooting occurred.

"Something like this doesn't happen in Upper Bucks," said the Rev. Bill Rex, pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Ferndale, who greeted those who attended the service. "This is a rather unique experience and yet a sign of the times. Unfortunately it's become a method to solve the problem, almost like the Wild West."

Jim Smith said his daughter had been answering phone calls as a volunteer at Trinity Lutheran for about three days.

The Rev. Gregory Shreaves, pastor at Trinity Lutheran, said he asked Smith to answer phones while he was on a three-day retreat in Malvern, Chester County, because the church has no secretary.

She had been a member of the church for a year or two, sang in the choir, and just recently stood up in front of the congregation to thank it for welcoming her.

She never married and didn't have children, her father said. She worked at various jobs, including a brief stint with a collection agency.

"She would get a bipolar attack and would lose her job," said Jim Smith, who has three adult children with his wife, Dorothy. They also have two sons: Gary, 46, who is in the Air Force and stationed in Afghanistan; and Perry, 44, who lives in Mount Joy, Lancaster County.

Rhonda Smith was very open about her illness and planned to write a book about her struggles with it, her father said.

"She was a fighter and never gave up," he said, adding that his daughter was taking prescription medications. "She kept thinking that she was going to beat it."

Smith said his daughter was diagnosed with the mental disorder when she was about 24 while attending Bloomsburg University in Columbia County. The diagnosis came five weeks before she was to finish courses to receive her teaching certificate.

She never did get the certificate, her father said.

Judy Zellner, Trinity Lutheran's sexton, said she discovered Smith minutes after she arrived to do some cleaning in the building and she alerted police.

"I saw nothing out of the ordinary" before discovering Smith, Zellner said, adding that Smith was her "buddy" who frequently went shopping with her.

Zellner recalled her friend as a person who spoke "lovingly" about her family and "was a very smart girl."

"She was a very strong woman," Zellner said. "I will miss her dearly. I will see her face always."

Bishop Claire S. Burkat of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was one of several clergy members who tried to comfort Smith's friends and relatives at Thursday's service. Burkat called for an end to violence and said, "We're praying that peace prevails."

"God's love for this broken world is larger than anything we encounter," Burkat said before the service.

Shreaves said some at the service were probably frightened, upset or "fed up with the scourge of gun violence."

"We're not here to speculate or second-guess or jump to conclusions," Shreaves said.

According to Trinity Lutheran's Web site, the church was founded in 1751 and got its own building in 1763.